A raw youth from Punjab, Dharmendra found himself in the Hindi film industry after a national talent hunt. He was filled with excitement when his first producer asked him to wait for his signing amount, expecting a princely sum.
However, he was greeted with a modest stipend—out of what the producer had in his pockets! Recalling this incident nearly two decades later, Dharmendra revealed he ended up receiving only Rs 51.
The Bollywood ‘He-Man’ shared that he had originally signed for Shola Aur Shabnam before T.M. Bihari’s Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere. Interestingly, the latter, which starred Balraj Sahni and Kumkum and was directed by Arjun Hingorani, was released first, making it his debut film.
As Dharmendra arrived at the studio, Bihari and his associate Thakkar asked him to wait outside a cabin while they discussed his signing.
“I sat there, buoyantly waiting for them to offer me an advance of at least 500 rupees. Can you guess the amount I received? No? Here it is—only 51 rupees! This is how it happened: Mr. Bihari emptied his pockets, and 17 rupees appeared. Mr. Thakkar followed suit, and together, they handed me a total of 51 rupees,” Dharmendra noted in an article titled ‘Mera Bachpan Aur Jawaani’, published in the Urdu film magazine Ruby in May 1977, as translated in Yasir Abbasi’s Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai: Urdu Memoirs of Cinema Legends.
Dharmendra expressed gratitude to his first director, Hingorani, particularly during his early days. Interestingly, this was also Hingorani’s first Hindi film; he had previously debuted with India’s first Sindhi film, Abana (1958), which introduced Sadhana Shivadasani, known later simply as Sadhana.
In the same article, Dharmendra mentioned that Hingorani provided him shelter and meals when he had hardly any money apart from that Rs 51. “Arjun saheb took me to a restaurant, informing me that I could eat there without paying, as he had credit arrangements. He instructed the manager: ‘Give this boy two slices of bread, butter—but no jam—and a cup of tea every day. If he eats more than this, charge him for the extra food.’”
The relationship between Dharmendra and Hingorani went well beyond their first film. Hingorani was well-known for his films often bearing three-word titles starting with the letter ‘K.’ Titles like Kab? Kyoon? Aur Kahan? (1970), Kahani Kismat Ki (1973), Khel Khilari Ka (1977), Katilon Ke Kaatil (1981), Karishma Kudrat Ka (1985), Kaun Kare Kurbanie (1991), and Kaise Kahoon Ke… Pyaar Hai (2003) all featured Dharmendra as the lead actor. Notably, Sultanat (1986) was the only exception. Some of these films included Dharmendra’s elder son, Sunny Deol, as a co-star.